SD Asian Film Foundation re-branded as Pacific Arts Movement

New name will give group room to grow, says executive director Lee Ann Kim

Brian Hu and Lee Ann Kim are, respectively, the associate artistic director and executive director of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, which has been re-branded as the Pacific Arts Movement.
— FILE PHOTO

Brian Hu and Lee Ann Kim are, respectively, the associate artistic director and executive director of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation, which has been re-branded as the Pacific Arts Movement.
/ FILE PHOTO

When the San Diego Asian Film Festival kicks off next month, attendees will see a new name on its posters. The San Diego Asian Film Foundation, the organization responsible for hosting the annual event, has changed its name to Pacific Arts Movement.

This re-branding will give the organization room to grow, says executive director Lee Ann Kim, who helped found the nonprofit foundation in 2002 after the successes of the San Diego Asian Film Festival in the two years prior.

When filling out the 501(c)(3) paperwork, she needed to come up with a name and, not knowing better, called the burgeoning group the San Diego Asian Film Foundation.

But the similarity of the foundation’s name to its flagship event has become problematic as the organization has grown, she says. Kim is often introduced as the director of the festival instead of the foundation, and people are often unaware that the group hosts events year-round.

This is especially disappointing given that staffers have been working to increase the foundation’s reach by hosting more events in North County and Liberty Station, and putting together a spring film showcase.

This past January — after receiving positive feedback about the prospect of a name change — the staff began the process of re-branding with a name and logo that more accurately reflects the foundation’s mission.

According to Kim, the word Pacific “felt right because we’re on the Pacific Rim, so it denotes where the organization is coming from without being constrained within the city of San Diego.”

Similarly, replacing “film” with “arts” gives the foundation the flexibility to celebrate Asian culture in as many mediums as possible.

“There are many different ways to express storytelling, be it through music, visual arts, theater, food or film,” Kim adds. “So we decided that we wanted to be able to do food and film, or food and music, without having there be a question of why the Asian Film Foundation was doing a food event.”

And then there’s “movement,” which Kim says reflects the “heart and soul” of the organization’s goal of being a catalyst for social change.

The organization hasn’t received any negative feedback since the re-branding went live early October at the pre-festival kickoff. On the contrary, staffers have received emails, phone calls, even gift baskets, from people who say that the change will allow the organization to extend its reach, and that the new name simply “feels right.”

But there’s one note that Kim wants to stress: The organization should be called Pac-Arts on the second reference. Pac-Arts reflects the spirit of the foundation and has a nice sound, she says, so “don’t call us PAM.”